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Tuesday, July 7, 2015

15 And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.16 People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument.17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath.18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged.19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.

"Anchor Wreath" - one of my latest watercolors that reminded me of this verse...

The world is a crazy place right now.
Everyone is at war with everyone else...not just in actual war-torn countries, but here in the land of Freedoms.
Person against person, spirit against Spirit.
Those who keep their word are getting harder to find.
It's so hard to know who to really trust!

Satan, the author of confusion, the Dark Prince of this world, the liar, deceiver, roams around like a lion to see who he can devour.
He messes with minds, he messes with hearts...causing chaos and strife in every way he can - making you feel like you're being tossed around in the violent hammering waves of the sea leaving everything crashing down around you.

But it doesn't have to be that way.

While Satan is a liar, God is all Truth.
While Satan will deceive, God's Word stands firm.

We can trust the words of the Bible for God is the inspiring author of the text, and He is the creator of our souls.
His love is immeasurable.
His mercies new each day.
His grace truly is sufficient.
He is all good, altogether faithful, altogether worthy of your trust and a promise keeper.
In Him alone is where true hope should be placed and it is where true freedom can be found.
In Him alone is peace amidst the chaos.

Notice how Abraham had to wait "patiently?"
While God answers all promises that He makes, He does it when the time is right. We may see results right away -or- they may come as for Abraham...to the generations after him.
But as God cannot lie, He can not change or go back on what He has promised. And as He ONLY wants what is best for us, we can believe that His timing is PERFECT and His words remain true. Even if we never have the chance to witness the fulfilling of His promises to us, we can take great comfort in knowing that they will still come, just as He has said.

Trust in Him.
Hope in Him.
And let that Hope be an anchor for your soul....believe that it will stand firm and secure.
His Word is True.
He is enough.

Saturday, July 4, 2015

So much has changed for our family over the past 6 months and with all these changes the Lord has been laying on my heart that it is time to bring back JOYfilled.

If you have not followed JOYfilled in the past, you might wonder what it's all about.

Well, it's about embracing and creating JOYfilled moments with your family and friends.
It's about JOYfilled design for your home and garden.
It's about encouraging each other and lifting up others with a JOYfilled heart.
And it's about walking in the JOYfilled life that the Lord God intends for each one of us by following His example and following through with the great commission of spreading the Gospel.
It's about FAITH...being able to TRUST in an unseen God and KNOWING He is working all things to our good for those who love Him....and that is truly JoyFilled!

This blog is a way for us to connect and share the good, the bad, the hard, and the beautiful.

“It is His joy that remains in us that makes our joy full.”~ A. B. Simpson